Category Archives: Community Outreach

An experienced health-care services industry executive, Joe Cosgrove serves as the president and CEO of Pentec Health in suburban Philadelphia. In addition to his roles at Pentec Health, Joe Cosgrove is an executive committee member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (GPCC).

The GPCC is celebrating the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s passage of HB 1177, which will use increased cigarette taxes to provide additional funds for public schools throughout Pennsylvania. The chamber was a strong supporter of the bill and played a significant role in securing the passage of a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes sold in Philadelphia. It is estimated that the increased tax will generate an additional $80 million for Philadelphia schools every year.

A longtime proponent of education, the GPCC continually advocates for public policy that fosters strong schools and helps establish a well-educated workforce. In addition to its advocacy work, the chamber takes a hands-on approach to improving education by leading an early childhood literacy campaign that helps build children’s reading skills and raises funds to place more books in school libraries.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease amongst the general population is around 14 percent. Out of the 661,000 Americans who have kidney failure, 468,000 approximately are undergoing dialysis treatment and 193,000 individuals live today with a functioning kidney transplant. These numbers can perhaps help us dismiss one of the most common myths surrounding kidney disease, and that is that this illness is rare and uncommon in today’s society.

Today here in Joe Cosgrove’s Blog, we want to take some time to talk about some of the most common misconceptions behind kidney disease and what it means if you are diagnosed with renal failure. As it happens with many diseases, people are often misinformed and misguided about their expectations and their personal involvement into their own treatment and the expectancy of quality of life.

Kidneys are specialized organs in the body with the function of removing excess water and waste material from the blood and expelling them through urine. There are many reasons why kidneys may become damaged or suffer an overload of stress as their function is taxing and extremely important in context with how many systems of the human body operate.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misconceptions behind kidney disease and its treatments.

You can easily tell if you have it.

The truth is that the large majority of people who have kidney disease are completely unaware of it. This happens because, in the early stages of the disease, symptoms are mostly nonexistent. The irony of this is that your best defense against kidney disease lays on early detection, but by the time the signs and symptoms are abundantly clear, then the disease is probably reaching a very advanced stage. Our recommendation for early detection is to get tested early if you are a person with a propensity for kidney disease due to your own health or if kidney disease is common in your family.

There is little you can do to prevent it

There are many things you can do to prevent kidney disease before you get it and even after you have been diagnosed. A healthy diet and a regular dose of exercise goes a long way not only preventing from stressing your kidneys unnecessarily but also helping you with your overall health in general. Regular over the counter pain medication is particularly taxing on your kidneys. It is common for people to abuse this type of over the counter medicine because it is so easily available and because we have a bad habit of taking it for everything. Remember that your kidneys perform a difficult function so any help you can give them from your end will go a long way on making sure they remain healthy.

If you are urinating fine, then you are probably OK

While changes in your urine and in the way your body reacts when you are peeing are the most common indicators of kidney health, they are not the only signals when something is wrong. Even if your kidneys are damaged, they may continue to pass urine without any pain or changes in color while not filtering your blood properly. There are other symptoms like fatigue; swelling and joint pain that could raise a red flag and indicate you should probably get tested. Remember that a family history of kidney disease is a reason to be concerned if you have any doubts.

Dialysis is painful

Patients undergoing dialysis talk about the physical feeling more in the terms of “discomfort” rather than “pain”. While it may be a bit uncomfortable, the new technologies and the advances in health treatment can ensure that they pain you have to experience is minimal and only while you get used to the treatment, something that happens rather quickly. Pain is not something you should seriously consider when thinking about dialysis because it is a factor you can pretty much ignore as negligible.

Your diet is going to be strict and boring

This is a rumor born out of pure ignorance. You have to take control of your own health and talk with your nutritionist to come up with a change to your eating habits and find foods that can be good for you while being tasty and easy to prepare. Changes to your diet may be necessary but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice eating all the food you love. You just have to become smarter about the way you treat your body and be more conscious about what you eat. That is something we can all used a little bit of.

I cannot travel on dialysis

Patients on dialysis are able to travel normally as long as they play things out accordingly. It isn’t difficult to find treatment centers where you are going and schedule appointments in advanced. There are also great new alternatives that can let you take your equipment with you and receive the treatment wherever you want.

The president of Pentec Health, Inc., Joe Cosgrove is also the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. When he is not overseeing operations at Pentec Health, Inc., Joe Cosgrove spends his time contributing to important causes, including The Jay Fund.

The Jay Fund is hosting its upcoming Wine Tasting Gala in March of 2015. The event brings together supporters of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund to bid on rare wines, sports memorabilia, and vacation packages, all while sampling food from fine dining restaurants within the Jacksonville Beach area. In addition, the fundraising event will showcase world-class wines, which guests can taste as they participate in the evening’s activities. Since its inception a decade ago, the Wine Tasting Gala has raised more than $1.5 million. The 2015 event has established a goal of raising half a million dollars in an effort to eradicate childhood cancer.

Established in 1996 by Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin, The Jay Fund was created in honor of Jay McGillis. A former college football athlete, Jay McGillis was diagnosed with leukemia while playing on Coach Coughlin’s Boston College team. The coach witnessed first-hand how cancer can affect a person and family both emotionally and financially. In response to this, he committed himself to helping others who are battling childhood cancer.